Atlanta Falcons fans are not particularly keen on the answer, as most know that Atlanta originally drafted Favre, then traded him to Green Bay for just a first-round pick prior the 1992 NFL season.

The rest is history, as Favre became the legendary Gunslinger, leading the Packers to back-to-back Super Bowl appearances and carrying the Minnesota Vikings deep into the postseason. With all of Favre’s accolades, records, accomplishments and his gold jacket, this trade seems like one of the worst in NFL history. After all, the No.19 overall pick, which was used to select Tony Smith, doesn’t seem like much in return for an all-time great.

However, when all the details are considered in the context of this controversial trade, it begins to make sense.

Favre’s controversial lifestyle

Most quarterbacks are thought to be the life of the party. Favre was — exceedingly so. It was well known that he partied hard and he even developed substance abuse issues. Later in his career at Green Bay, his troubles caught up to him. Alcohol and painkillers were his demons, and it got to the point that he had to enter the NFL’s program for drug abuse.

Favre may have overcome his struggles had he stayed with the Falcons, but it was going to be an uphill battle with the nightlife scene that was readily available to him. Green Bay proved to be a much less tempting setting than the bars and clubs of downtown Atlanta.

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Glanville vs. the front office

At the time, Atlanta’s head coach was Jerry Glanville.

He was the mastermind behind the famous 1977 “Grits Blitz” defense and the man who made the Falcons fun to watch again. In 1991, no one expected the Falcons to compete in the NFC, but Glanville led Atlanta to the NFC divisional round with help from players like Deion Sanders and a new high-powered offense.

With a proven track record of success, it seemed like Glanville was making strides and there was a plan for the future. However, the front office and Glanville did not agree on Favre. The general manager at the time wanted Favre, but Glanville despised the young QB because of his partying lifestyle and perceived lack of work ethic.

This dilemma didn’t just result in tension between the front office and the coaching staff, it became a war of pettiness. Glanville refused to play Favre, going as far to say as that it “would take a plane crash” for Favre to get any playing time at all.

Obviously, Favre would need a change of scenery to succeed.

Favre’s value in 1992

When looking at this trade today, it’s easy to say that Favre was worth way more than the No. 19 overall pick or Smith, who the Falcons used it on. However, remember that at the time of the trade, Favre had only taken five professional snaps in the NFL. One of them was a sack, two were interceptions and the two other were incomplete passes.

In a word, he was unproven at best. Combine this with his known hard-partying lifestyle and drinking problem and he was considered a risk rather a talented young player with high upside.

Of course it’s frustrating to see a player have a Hall of Fame career somewhere else in the NFL, but given everything surrounding the trade, it wasn’t a horrible deal for the Falcons. Hindsight is 20/20, but a first-round pick for a QB that partied too much, couldn’t win the respect of the coach and had yet to even complete a pass in the NFL isn’t too bad at all.

Some say that Favre needed to get out of Atlanta and get a wake-up call from the trade to save his career and perhaps even his life. In the end, it worked out well for Favre and could have gone much worse for the Falcons.